Unlocking South Africa’s Potential: Leveraging Trade for Inclusive Growth and Resilience

International trade can be a powerful force for economic growth and poverty reduction. This report “Unlocking South Africa’s Potential: Leveraging Trade for Inclusive Growth and Resilience” synthesizes analytical work carried over the last four years. It provides an overview of South Africa’s export performance over the past decade for both goods and services and discusses how trade policies and trade facilitation reforms can support robust, inclusive, and resilient economic growth in South Africa. In a changing world that has been marked by unprecedented supply chain disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic and growing skepticism towards trade openness, the report also emphasizes emerging opportunities for South Africa, from the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to trade in services and green products.